Rachel asked if the government would consider bringing back a drug infringement trial that was previously proposed in 2022. With the guidance of an expert panel and working group, the drug infringement trial would have seen those caught with small quantities of drugs referred to education and/or treatment rather than incarceration. Not unlike the recommendations from the inquiry into cannabis law reform, this proposal has since been abandoned.
Thursday the 30th of October 2025
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
Substantive Question
My question is for the Minister for Mental Health, Minister Stitt. In 2022 it was announced that the then Andrews government would be setting up an expert panel to consider a trial. Under this, people caught with small quantities of drugs would be automatically issued a notice by police. This notice would refer them to education or treatment. A working group consisting of police, health professionals, addiction specialists, and youth workers was going to be tasked with advising the government on options for the infringement trial.
So my question is: what happened to this working group and the planned trial?
Ingrid Stitt (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs):
Substantive Response
I thank Ms Payne for her question. At the outset I want to reiterate our government’s commitment to preventing and reducing drug-related harm in the Victorian community. We as a government, since coming into office in 2014, have invested more than $3 billion in drug and alcohol treatment, support and harm minimisation initiatives. These sit alongside some substantial legislative reform and achievements over the past 10 years. I do want to acknowledge the work of the Legalise Cannabis MPs in this place. They have been working hard to provide research and information not just to the chamber but to the government and to the broader community.
The particular working group that you raise, Ms Payne, is not strictly a matter for me in my capacity as Minister for Mental Health. If my memory serves me correctly, that was a matter that the former Attorney announced in the last term of government. But what I can say is that our government does support alternative pathways for low-level offending where possible. These measures obviously help to improve outcomes for not only that individual but the wider community.
It is certainly in line with the government response to the recent inquiry into Legalise Cannabis Victoria’s Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis) Bill. We will continue to consider options to improve drug diversion programs in relation to low-level drug use and possession, as per the formal government response to that inquiry.
In addition to that, we will continue to monitor and consider the emerging evidence. This includes the important areas of harm minimisation and the flow-on effects, I suppose, for particularly vulnerable cohorts.
Rachel Payne:
Supplementary Question
I thank the minister for her response there. You did touch on this in your response, but with the government’s recent rejection of the recommendations to decriminalise cannabis, the community is left asking what the government plans to do instead to address the harms of criminalising cannabis. Will the minister advise whether the government would consider bringing back the infringement trial?
Ingrid Stitt:
Supplementary Response
I think you are right, Ms Payne: I did go to this in broad terms in my answer to your substantive question. I think that the government response to the recent upper house inquiry should give you comfort. We will continue to look closely at ways in which we can support people. Also, we will look at whether low-level offending, wherever possible, can be diverted away from the justice system or the impacts of incarceration. We have made that clear in our government response. We will continue to look at ways in which that can occur.
